Rambling thoughts on talent and a sneak peek into my world

The Talented One

I come from a family of accountants, coders, engineers, bankers and doctors. My education put me amongst the finance and business people. Within this world, I was often called the talented one. The one with the gift. Over the years, this description became a part of my identity and helped me eventually change careers to art.

Today I believe that ‘talent’ is an over rated term. It conveys this divine blessing given to a chosen few. But most of the time we are just babies naturally inclined to do certain things over others. And the more we do them, the better we get at them. As a society we understand this when it comes to math. If a child finds themselves weak in math, they are pushed to practice more. But if a child finds themselves weak in drawing, often they are given the message that there’s nothing they can do about it. They tend to stay away from drawing, avoid it at all costs and then grow up to become adults who think they cannot draw. And the children naturally inclined towards drawing are given the resources to practice more. And these become the talented ones. The chosen few.

But this is not a post about how we should raise our children. This is for you, the adult. If you ever wished that you could draw, I’m just here to tell you that YOU CAN. Drawing can be learnt. Painting can be learnt. And just like with everything else, the more you practice it, the better you will get. And through the process, you will also learn there is no right or wrong way to create art. The way you draw or paint an apple will be unique to you and no one else will quite be able to do it the way you do. You will learn that there is no winning or losing in art. You will win by taking the journey to express yourself and over time become more and more confident about owning your artistic voice.

The arts teach you to discover and embrace who you are. So go ahead and try out an online art class or even better, an in-person one. Give your inner artist a chance.

Sneak peek into my world

Earlier this year I finished illustrating a picture book called ‘F is for Faith, G is for Guru’ and I recently made this video showing a bit of the process. I hope you enjoy it!

It’s time for Folktale Week

If you enjoy folklore and fantasy and gorgeous illustrations, do check out Folktale Week on Instagram. It’s one of the more popular Instagram challenges for illustrators and this year it’s happening from November 14-20 (next week!). Artists from around the world share their work on seven consecutive days (or as many as they can) based on pre-released prompts. All you have to do is follow or search for #folktaleweek2022 and #folktaleweek and you will get to see all the incredible work.

I’m busy working on the illustrations and I’d love it if you follow me on Instagram and cheer me on from Monday. And if you are an artist, I do hope that you are joining in.

This year the seven prompts are:

FOOL TREE STAR REBEL COSTUME POTION VICTORY

Finally, thank you for all the emails and messages you sent my way after reading my first newsletter last month. I love hearing back from you. It makes my day.

I hope you have a wonderful month. Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate. Wishing you all love and light.